Jean and Matt - Baby Bump

Congratulations Matt and Jean !!

We had a fun day doing this shoot at the Reservoir  !!

Hopefully we'll see them again when their beautiful baby is born !!

Willowbrook..OR Farm Colony

Willowbrook State Hospital in Staten Island 

was our next institutional adventure ...

< And by 'our' I mean Ricki .. Mike .. Cherie .. and I >

Expect that unbeknownst to us..

Willowbrook has been completely converted in a College, 

except for four small buildings that have been expertly 

boarded up .. and even if they hadn't .. are smack dab in the middle of the school grounds.

Yes we were extremely upset.

And yet we didn't give up.

We had watched a documentary on this area the night before and had seen

abandoned buildings overgrown and in the woods so we

hopped on our phones and between the three of us found ::

 :: The Farm Colony ::

 So this place is literally 3 blocks away from the former Willowbrook

and nestled in the Greenbelt 

It consisted of about 10 buildings...including a factory and green house.

This place had been a home for the Elderly and Poor.. people who couldnt 

live on their own ... Hence the Colony.

Just like Willowbrook this place was understaffed and rumored to be the home

of multiple tragic events.

< The only reason I am releasing the name of this place is because there are NO

NO TRESPASSING signs and we walked right in. Therefore not illegal >

<  >

                                                                                   <  >

                  < A lot of the buildings were so covered in foliage that they were barely visible >

                                                                  < My new home !! >

< Complete with its own state of the art elevator !! >

<  >

                                              < Typically the places we go are indestructible >
                            Made out of mostly brick and wood the majority of these buildings
                                 were falling apart ... If not completely destroyed like one is ...

                                                             < Yes I have a control valve >
                                                                  < Why you don't ? >

                                                      < Look at my picture window !! >

<  >

                                                                                 <  >

                                                             <  And fancy light fixtures  >

<  >

< >

                                                                                  <  >

< I even have beer in case your thirsty >

                                                                                 <  >

                                         < I think this used to be some type of Greenhouse >

                                                                                   <  >

<  >

< I even have an open floor plan >

                                                                   < Theres my Car !! >
                                                    < Shopping carts are soooo good on gas >

< Control Panel ? >

                                              < These are the pulley's (Mechanics) for the Elevator >

<  >

                                                                                 <  >

                                                                                 <  >

                                                          < Yeah he's Bad Ass ... >
                                            (That was there we didn't bring it)
                                                  ( Also I apologize for the foul language )
                                                                   < Offensive >

<  >

                                                                 < Here's my hand sink ! >
                                       ( I find it refreshing to clean up outside with fresh rain water )
                                     ( Ok maybe its not super fresh but Im sure its just fine .....)

<  >

< The highest room in the world >

                                               So I guess this is some kind of farm equipment
                                             But I can't imagine for what ...

                                                        <  Look at my beautiful wall art !! >

                                                                     < I love this one >

                                                                    < Oh hi friends !! >

                                                    Roots literally growing into the walls

                                                                                 <  >

<  >

                                                               < This is my bedroom >

                                     < I took this picture because it says Farm Colony on it >
                                           ( I know you probably can't see it but its there ... )

                                                                    < A sitting room >

                                                          < Mike is whittling a shank >
                                        ( Just in case someone tries to break into my home )

                                        ( OK guys I'm pretty sure you got all the scrap metal out )

                                                                               <  >

                                                ( Um what kind of birds have yellow bones ?)
                < I know that makes me sound ignorant but those were def not feathers >
                           ( What else could they be ? )

                                                                             < Pipe >

                                                            < The basement "dump" >

                                                                               <  >

                                              < This was a great find ... Its a food 'plate' >
                                 ( Which as Ricky said 'looks more like dog bowl' )
                                                     ( Which is sad )

< I have shelves for you to put your things on >

<  >

                                     < This one room was just full of these wooden cubby holes >
                      ( And on the floor there were shaving razors and shampoos and lotion bottles )
                         < So were assuming it was some type of storage room for the residents >
                                                      ( Yeah were pretty smart  ... )

                                                                    < Tea Anyone ? >

                                                                               <  >

< This is the time out room >

                                                                                 <  >

<  >

                                             < Do you see all those little black dots on the wall ? >
                                                            ( Yeah well they're all crickets )
                     There were hundreds of crickets in these buildings ... but not everywhere ..
                                 just randomly here and there which made it kind of creepy ....
                                         The were also very very quiet .... Even more creepy ....
                 

                                                < I have a couch in case you want to stay over >

< Or a nice chair if you just want to take a load off >

< Ill kept the thermostat really high so you don't get too hott  >

<  >

<  >

                                                                                 <  >

<  Hot. Mess. >

                        < Some light reading in case your looking to just relax with a good book >

                                             Well I hope you enjoyed this one ...
                       Of course there will be more to follow !!